CapitalNew Delhi

Region Southern Asia

Currency Indian Rupee (₹)

Trade Indicators

18th Largest Export Market for U.S. Goods (2015)

U.S. Companies Exported $21.5 Billion Worth of Goods (2015)

Smartphone Users Expected to Reach 650 Million by 2019

B2B eCommerce Market Expected to Reach $700 Billion by 2020

U.S. is a top country for cross-border eCommerce shopping to Indian buyers

Top Industry Export Opportunities

Corrosion Control

In India, the demand for corrosion-free materials is increasing, especially in the chemical, oil and gas, energy and shipping, railways, and ports sectors, where corrosion is a serious problem. The most commonly used methods to address corrosion include protective coatings, corrosion resistant alloys, non-metallic materials, corrosion inhibitors, and cathodic protection. It is worth noting that there is no national corrosion standard in India, nor are there any programs to certify corrosion engineers, who could carry out regular corrosion audits that can begin to properly and systematically address India’s industrial corrosion challenges.

Water Treatment

Water and wastewater is the most promising sub-sector in India’s environmental segment in the non-energy category. The municipal wastewater treatment segment is badly in need of capacity augmentation since installed capacity meets only about 30% of the need. This segment is expected to grow at over 15% between 2015 and 2020, with the market size growing from $3.3 billion in 2015 to $6.8 billion in 2020. The drinking water treatment and supply segment is expected to reach a size of $9.4 billion in 2020 from the 2015 value of $5.5 billion. The industrial process and wastewater segment is estimated to reach $2 billion in revenue by 2020, growing at over 20%.

Healthcare and Medical Equipment

A growing old age population above 100 million, with rising incidence of lifestyle diseases, combined with rising incomes and affordability and increased penetration of health insurance are fuelling growth of the industry. The Indian healthcare industry will grow to $158 billion by 2017 from $78 billion in 2012. The most promising sub-sectors in the healthcare and medical equipment sector are; medical infrastructure, medical and surgical Instruments, medical imaging, electro medical equipment, orthopedic and prosthetic appliances, cancer diagnostics, ophthalmic instruments and appliances and orthodontic equipment’s and dental implants.

Trade Regulations & Customs Information

Imports: Importers are required to furnish an import declaration in the prescribed bill of entry format, disclosing full details of the value of imported goods.

Import Tariffs: U.S. companies face tariff and non-tariff barriers that impede their exports. One such area of protection is in the agricultural sector where Indian tariffs remain high compared to international standards. For non-agricultural goods, however, India has made considerable progress in restructuring tariffs.

Import Licensing Requirements: The majority of import items fall within the scope of India’s EXIM Policy regulation of Open General License (OGL). This means that they are deemed to be freely importable without restrictions and without a license, except to the extent that they are regulated by the provisions of the Policy or any other law.